Chapter Two

The Encounter

THIA'S POV

I had to bunk with Lauren.

I'll leave it at that.

Ever since she turned sixteen, which was last week. She started to buy everything she could get her hands (and eyes) on. I sighed. Our room was a mess. It was littered with old shopping bags and used clothing all contributed by Lauren, of course. I was even too afraid to open my eyes in the morning. I knew who would have to clean the mess up.

That's me.

I got up from the bed and sulked towards the bedroom door. So far this day was beginning to be a nightmare.

SCOTTY'S POV

"Put it on the News." Paul had said that morning over breakfast, as Haley switched on the T.V. set.

"No, turn it to MTV." argued Naima. She had a stern voice.

I saw Stefano with a cocky grin. "I agree with Naima, put it to MTV, Paul."

"No. I need to watch my daily News." said Paul. From the sound of restraint in his voice he seemed so close to shouting

Paul got his way.

As always.

Along with several groans from Stefano and Casey.

Paul smiled. "Deal with it."

I stared at the empty winding staircase. I was sitting by the kitchen counter waiting for the last person up. Waiting for…

"Hey there, sleepyhead." Casey called.

It was Thia. She smiled. I couldn't help but think about her chocolate brown eyes, her jet black hair, the way she glints under the sun, the way…

I shook my head.

She took a seat beside me.

I tried to hide my smile.

"D'you want eggs or bacon?" a sudden sentiment from Paul's mouth. He wore his 'kiss the cook' chef hat along with his special red apron.

"Anything's fine." Thia replied. She flipped her hair then turned to me.

"What is it?" she made a desperate grab for her hair.

I didn't even notice that I was staring at her.

All I knew was that it was probably awkward.

She waved a hand over my face. I blinked.

"Nothing's wrong. It's just… that…"

Her beautiful almond shaped eyes did what they did best. They looked intently at me. I quickly turned away. I saw Paul smile as he handed Thia her eggs. Pia smiled too. I felt my face flush red again.

Stefano rose from his spot by the T.V. and strode to Paul. He had a fixed smirk on his face.

"You know, I'm a really generous guy."He started. I saw Casey fake a choke. I glanced at Thia who suppressed a smile.

Stefano ignored the comments and turned to Paul instead.

"It may have been a sacrifice to give up one of my girls," he winked at Pia.

She looked mortified. "Your girls?" she sputtered.

Once again, he ignored the comments. "But you two kind of look good together."

I concealed my smile. I saw Paul catch a quick glance at Pia. But for her, she just glared at Stefano with predictable and uncontrollable anger.

She charged him.

Thankfully, Naima and Haley were by her side, saving Stefano from certain doom.

Let's just say this morning was a little interesting.

We can leave it at that.

THIA'S POV

We ended up going shopping at The Market Circle.

We also ended up having to keep Stefano and Pia completely separate from each other.

It was easy to keep them apart since we mostly walked in a long straight line.

Pia walked at the very right with Lauren while Stefano walked by me.

Lauren was full handed again. She had a pair of new sunglasses on her face. She had several bags consuming her hands. I thought about the mess in the room. It was about to get even messier. I sighed.

Stefano was talking to me about Big Foot. An odd topic that caused Scotty to dub into our conversation and call Stefano 'random'. He didn't seem to mind. Scotty wasn't completely empty handed though either.

He held one bag on his right hand, which contained a yellow sun dress. He had bought it for me. I insisted on paying but he refused to take my money.

I like to say that we get along well.

We were just walking down the path when Stefano involuntarily stopped. He grabbed hold of my shoulders and wheeled me in front of him. Then he peered to the side.

"Oh my go…" he muttered, unable to finish his last word. I just looked at him oddly. The others didn't seem to notice. They just kept on walking.

"It's… Oh my gosh… It's really her…"

I glanced towards to where he was looking at. There I saw a brunette. Pretty, but her blotched eyes gave her away. She suddenly looked to our direction, eyes wide. She obviously wasn't just anybody.

She looked away. "Who are you so afraid of?"

I thought about how the brunette could be anything like a threat. It was hard to imagine a fragile creature be so mean.

Stefano turned to face me. The others were gone and nowhere to be seen. They had left us.

"She…" Stefano began, "Was the worst three years of my life." He glanced at me wearily.

It took me a second before realizing what he had meant.

"She's your girlfriend?"

"Was… was my girlfriend." He shook his head.

"Probably the worst one I ever had." He looked at me guardedly. "Ever."

The brunette emerged from behind him.

I opened my mouth. "Ummmm… Stefano…"

He wouldn't listen. It constantly reminded me of Lauren.

"You know she never gave me space. She was always so over protective," the girl looked offended now. Her mouth was agape. "She was always so…"

He finally saw the look on my face.

"She's right behind me isn't she?"

I carefully nodded my head.

Stefano turned on his heel.

"Hey, Stephanie! Long time no see!"

She didn't look pleased. Her icy glare soon focused on me.

"So, who's this?" She asked.

I retaliated. "No… We're not…"

I saw Stefano smirk.

He swung an arm over my shoulders.

"This is my new girlfriend, Thia."

Stephanie looked hurt by the news. "So, I guess American idol is going great for you?"

She had changed the subject.

Typical.

Stefano smiled at her reaction. "It's actually pretty good."

"Everyone's getting along just great. We'll all probably stay together for a long time. Maybe even more than three years."

I smiled.

Ouch.

SCOTTY'S POV

Our day finally ended. We were heading for the limo. I was having a conversation with Thia and Stefano about Big Foot.

"So that's why their not real." I concluded.

I turned to the two.

They weren't there.

It was typical behavior for Stefano.

But for Thia?

No.

Way.

I made a full 360 degree turn.

"Hey guys?" I called to the others.

Thankfully, I got their attention.

"What is it?" Jacob spoke up this time.

"I think we're missing two fugitives."

I pointed at the empty spaces beside me.

"Always in trouble." I heard Pia mumble.

THIA'S POV

"Did you see the reaction on her face? It was comedy gold." Stefano laughed.

I couldn't help but smile. It really was funny.

Stefano poked my shoulder. "She was probably jealous of my new, hot girlfriend."

I pushed him. Hard enough to shove him to the side. But not hard enough to knock him over.

He stiffened. "What?" He looked at me with his brown eyes. "It's true. Well, everything but the girlfriend thing. Of course."

I looked at him, surprised about his sudden approach.

"You know, you aren't so bad to talk to when you're…"

I didn't know how to end my sentence. He finished it for me.

"When I'm not hitting on you?"

"Well, I won't call it that…"

"Don't you like that?" I saw a smile on his face form again. I decided not to answer.

It came from a distance. We both turned around.

We aw Scotty and Casey. Both waving at us frantically.

"I think we'd better go…" I started.

"Ladies first."

I saw him smile.